Patagonian Fungus Diesel: An Alternative Biofuel?

Scientists have recently discovered that a tree fungus Gliocladium roseum, produces compounds of long-chain hydrocarbons very similar in structure to commercial diesel.

The lead scientist of the research, Gary Strobel, from Montana State University said: "This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances... ...we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons."

The work is due to be published in the journal Microbiology next month, where the compounds have been described as 'mycodiesels.' The research also documents the ability of the fungus to break down cellulose - the structure that makes up the plant cell wall with lignin - to create the mycodiesel. Previously, cellulose has been converted to biofuels in a two-step process requiring enzymes to create sugars from the cell wall followed by microbes to convert sugars to ethanol.

The find illustrates the very real and unthinkably diverse compounds in the depths of our remaining forests, and highlights the desperate need to conserve what we have left. The research also comes at a time when traditional taxonomy is in precipitous decline, making the case to educate more young taxonomists even stronger. There is great potential for the discovery of new medicines and fuels derived from biodiversity across many ecosystems, from forests to the marine environment.

Although excited by the news, Tariq Butt, a fungus expert based at Swansea University, urged caution:

"Concept-wise, the discovery and its potential applications are fantastic. However, more research is needed, as well as a pilot study to determine the costs and benefits. Even so, another potential supply of renewable fuel allows us to diversify our energy sources and is certainly an exciting discovery."

World Leaders Meet in Japan for G8 Summit

The leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised nations meet in Japan today to discuss the challenges posed to global development by climate change, rising food prices and escalating energy costs.

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called on the US to take the lead on fighting climate change, stating in an interview with AFP that "it's desirable for industrialised nations to lead by example". Ban said that "political will" was lacking in the fight against climate change. In the same article it is reported that the chief of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has said it's unlikely that specific targets for emissions cuts will be agreed by leaders at the summit. However, he says he hopes for agreement to "a long-term commitment of a 50 per cent reduction by 2050 and a principle agreement for a mid term reduction [for each G8 nation]".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to call on G8 leaders to accelerate efforts to tackle global warming, seeing this as integral to the development agenda.

Carbon Capture and Storage Consultation Launched

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has launched a consultation on the future of Carbon Capture and Storage.

A burgeoning population and consequent increase in demand for energy means that meeting global, national and regional carbon emission reduction targets will become increasingly difficult. In response, the government has proposed to build additional coal-fired power stations to meet the growing demand for energy. However, these proposals have been met with fierce criticism from environmental campaigners and leading scientists such as the President of the Royal Society, as the government's commitment to energy supply is not presently concomitant with appropriate measures to reduce carbon emissions using carbon capture and storage technology.

The consultation document seeks a range of perspectives on various components of the regulation of Carbon Capture and Storage. Specifically, the document will consult on aspects of the proposed EU Directive on the Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide and welcomes views on the principle of ‘carbon capture readiness’ for combustion plants and the regulation of Carbon Dioxide storage.


BES members are invited to take part in the consultation response, and contributions are strongly welcomed from readers of the blog.

Science Academies Call for Tougher Action by G8 Nations

The Royal Society has joined other academic institutions from around the world in calling for rapid agreement on a timetable to fit carbon capturing technologies to coal-fired power stations, in order to avoid "rapid and irreversible" climate change. Academies from the G8 nations have issued a statement on climate change adaptation and the transition to a low-carbon economy, setting out the key points which must be addressed by the G8 summit in July.

Amongst other points, the societies call on industrialised countries to step-up their efforts to develop greener housing and transport, in the move to a low carbon economy, and urge the G8 nations to commit themselves to power station upgrades to capture CO2. Carbon capture technology is still unproved at the industrial scale but the UK government believes that it could remove 90% of the CO2 released by Britain's fossil fuel power stations.

The statement has been delivered to the Japanese government, which hosts the next G8 Summit. Japan has this week announced a new climate change policy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 - 80% by 2050. Japan has encouraged voluntary pledges from industry to cut emissions under a new carbon trading scheme.

Read Press Release from the Royal Society (10 June 2008)

Carbon Capture for Coal-fired Power Stations

The Royal Society has called for Government to guarantee that new coal-fired power stations in the UK capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2020.

In the letter written to John Hutton the Secretary of State at the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the President of the Society, Lord Martin Rees, makes clear that in order to meet the 2020 emission reduction targets set out in the climate change bill, measures such as the withdrawal of operating permits for coal-fired power stations are withdrawn if they fail to meet the above emissions target.

Government Launches New Sustainability Office

The Government has announced the creation of a new body to tackle carbon emissions in Whitehall. The new Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement will help Government departments to cut waste and reduce their carbon emissions. A new post has also been created in the Government Chief Sustainability Officer to embed a 'culture of change' across departments.

Alongside the creation of the new Centre, the Government has accepted the recommendations of the 2007 Sustainable Development in Government report. Measures to be taken across Whitehall include phasing out bottled water in meetings and the launch of a major 'green' IT programme across Government in the summer. Also from the summer, all new vehicles for ministers and permanent secretaries will emit less than 130g/km of carbon. From 2010, the Government will join the Carbon Reduction Commitment, an innovative carbon trading scheme (on which DEFRA is currently consulting) to cover all government departments, banks, retailers and local authorities, to compel them to reduce their carbon emissions.

An EU 'road map' for cleaner energy

A scientific project funded by the EU's research programme has found that introducing hydrogen into the energy system would significantly reduce total oil consumption by the road transport sector: by 40% by 2050. Hydrogen is one of the most realistic options for environmental and economic sustainability in the transport sector.

The HyWays project has produced a 'road map' to analyse potential impacts on the EU economy, society and environment of the large-scale introduction of hydrogen, and an action plan detailing what must be done to achieve this. The road map estimates that by 2030 there will be 16 million hydrogen-powered cars.

10 member states took part in the project, including the UK. All chose the production of hydrogen from natural gas, biomass and wind energy, with some also including nuclear and coal-fired power stations as a means of generating hydrogen. The study found that the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels using carbon capture and storage could make a significant contribution to lowering CO2 emissions. The report urges the EU to take the lead in developing the technology and infrastructure needed to increasingly utilise hydrogen in transport.

"Leave it off" on 27-28 February: E-Day

Tomorrow (Wednesday 27 February) sees the start of 'E-Day', or Energy Saving Day, a 24 hour event encouraging the British public to turn off non-essential household items, and aiming to show how even small energy saving measures can play a part in tackling climate change.

Everyone who wants to take part in E-Day is being asked to leave off household electrical items for as long as possible between 6pm tomorrow and 6pm on Thursday 28th. Direct feedback on the results of these actions on national energy demand will be available on the E-Day website at www.e-day.org, which will be updated on a minute by minute basis.

E-Day state that "given the number of non-essential household items which are left on, widespread uptake of this call to action has the potential to generate a 1-3% drop in the UK's electricity demand". The organisers estimate that if unnecessary electrical items were regularly turned off, this would equate to permanently turning off a medium-sized (500MW) coal-fired power station.  

Access the E-Day Facebook Group here.

EU Announces Climate and Energy Policy Package

The EU Commission has announced its 'Energy and Climate Change Package', building on proposals agreed in early 2007. The package comprises a review of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), sets targets for renewable energy, establishes a framework for the development of Carbon Capture and Storage(CCS) technology and outlines how the EU's 'CO2 burden' will be shared between the 27 EU member states.

The aim is to reduce the overall level of EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020.

The ETS is to be expanded to cover a wider range of greenhouse gases, with emissions targets adjusted year on year to reduce emissions, from sectors included, to 21% of 2005 levels by 2020, across the EU. Energy credits for the power sector will be auctioned from the beginning of the scheme, with other sectors, to include aviation, entering this process gradually. Allowance may be made for those sectors particularly vulnerable to competition from developing economies, such as those in India and China. Funds generated through the ETS will be used to foster innovation and growth in renewables, R&D and CCS. They will also be used to help developing countries adapt to climate change. The ETS extension will begin in 2013.

National targets for emissions reductions have been proposed for emissions not covered by the ETS.

Biofuels should make up 10% of all transport fuels across the EU by 2020, if production is shown to be sustainable this will not cause other environmental problems.

It is hoped that the package of measures can be agreed by MEPs and Member States by the end of 2009.

UN Launch Annual Human Development Report

The UN launched its annual Human Development Report in Brazil on 27 November. The report, 'Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World,' is critical of all developed countries for their performance so far in cutting emissions. The report states that radical new policies are needed if Britain is to meet its target to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 26-32% by 2020, including higher vehicle excise duties for high-polluting cars and carbon taxes. The UK should also phase out highly polluting power stations and increase its use of renewable energy sources, particularly wind and tidal.

"In a divided but ecologically interdependent world, [the report] challenges all people to reflect upon how we manage the environment of the one thing that we share in common: planet Earth"

PM Speech on Climate Change

On Monday, the Prime Minister gave a speech on climate change and energy. He announced the Government's position on a post-2012 agreement to meet the challenges posed by climate change. He committed to increase the amount of electricity produced from offshore wind farms and to continue discussions regarding other renewable energy sources such as the Severn Barrage. He is committed to keeping in line with the EU agreement of ensuring that global temperatures do not increase above 2C.

Severn Barrage Development

Today the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) released a report on the development of the Severn Barrage. If fully exploited, SDC have suggested that the barrage will supply 10% of the UK’s electricity which will combat both current issues of climate change and energy security. The barrage would generate large quantities of low carbon electricity thus assisting in reaching the 2050 climate change reduction targets and the renewable energy targets. Despite the potential advantages of the barrage, the SDC says there are serious environmental costs that need to be addressed.

The Severn Estuary is home to unique ecosystems that are protected under national and international legislation. The estuary is an internationally important site for 65,000 migratory birds, five of which are of international importance and ten are of national importance. The estuary is designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive and is a candidate Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive. Surrounding areas of the Severn Estuary are also protected under international and national statutory designations such as RAMAR, SSSI and both Local and National nature reserves. These ecosystem habitats would be directly affected by the development of the barrage. Under the EU Directives, the development must go through a series of tests which includes providing habitat compensation costing in the region of 7.5million for a new 115ha habitat.

Severn Barrage

On Wednesday in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales discussed the possible development of the Severn Barrage which could create a significant supply of clean, electricity for the UK by harnessing the tidal flow of the Severn Estuary. Rt. Hon Peter Hain MP stated: "experience at La Rance river in France is that biodiversity can increase as a result of the construction of a barrage and that if we are not prepared to take bold steps to fight climate change, biodiversity will be, in a sense, a secondary matter". Read the full debate here.

The BES produced a booklet on the Ecological Impacts of Estuarine Barrages.